Comtact patterns and splitting the holidays

[0palfruit]

Hi just wondered how other parents split the school holidays?
If you alternate weekends during term time, how does this fit in when it comes to the holidays period? I am particularly interested to hear from parents who have some distance between them so they have to take travelling time of 1.5hrs into account.
Also, anyone using a more complicated contact pattern? 3 weekly or more because of shift patterns at work?

We do 2-2-5-5 (50/50) but I don't think that would work with the journey time you have. I would look at every other weekend so Friday from school until Monday to school (saves the agg of rushing/resettling Sunday evenings) and a midweek contact on the week following weekend with other parent so it's not a big gap between seeing them. School holidays are alternating for us when 1 week and week each when 2+. Ie October this yeah with parent A, Christmas is 1 full week each, Feb parent B and so on up to with 1 week each in 6 weeks. Next year will be parent B for Oct and parent A for Feb etc. Works well as we use school as the handover location so pick up/drop off fits in with taking/collecting from school and in the 7 handovers schools closed its a mutual family members house in the late afternoon given the other parent a chance to finish work etc.

DSD mum and her partner are also on shift work. Our pattern means they know the two week nights they need to be sorting childcare as these 2 days don't change ie every Monday and Tuesday and then every other weekend. We then know every Wednesday and Thursday say we are collecting DSD from school and same every other Friday-Monday morning so won't book in any work calls before 9:30 or past 2PM as DP and I split the school runs on our days between us. We can all also plan holidays before the calendar is sent to each household as we know based on the alternating holidays when she's with us for holiday bookings/trips away etc.

Your current set up sounds complicated but also very well organised between you all. Was this set up through a court order or a just something you sorted between yourselves?

When verbally said it does sound complicated but when as a visual, it's really easy to grasp.
Mon night/Tuesday night - mum
Wed night/thurs night - dad
Friday/sat/sun nights - alternated.

DSD now can attend her Pony club and gymnastics weekly as opposed to bi-weekly because we moved to weekday sessions and has been able to form little friendship groups as she's now there at every session.

DP suggested it before court but was ignored by mum but a Judge confirmed it created the stability DSD needed and wanted as opposed to mums want of as and when for her flexibility suited so could be 1 night one week and 0 another with 24 hours notice (literally what she suggested to the Judge). Before the order, it was every other weekend and one mid week when not our weekend plus every morning we would collect her early doors and get her ready for school/do school run plus half terms/summer being solely on us but Christmas Day alternating.

We had from school pick up on Friday to school drop off on Monday. Half terms were split in half with DS spending from Friday to Wednesday morning with who ever had contact on Friday.

Summer holidays were split 2 weeks with mum, 2 weeks with dad, one week with mum one week with dad. Whoever had contact on the last Friday of school had the first 2 weeks of the holiday.

Christmas was one week with him one with me, with Christmas week on alternate years. We decided not to split Christmas/boxing days as if we did nobody had a good time.